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Sunday, October 11, 2015

Donald Trump’s candidacy raises questions

Catherine Donahue
Staff Writer

When looking back at Donald Trump’s political history, an apparent favoritism towards the Democratic Party becomes evident. However, he is running for president as a Republican.
Up until the recent elections, Trump favored the Democratic Party almost entirely, even stating to Wolf Blitzer that the economy always does better under Democrats. His contributions include over $125,000 to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee of New York, as well as tens of thousands of dollars to politicians such as Hillary Clinton and Senators Chuck Schumer, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, many of whom were listed on a “Republican enemies” list by the Washington Post in 2011. Trump donated money to a few Republican candidates and politicians, but these donations were nominal.
In a March 1990 interview, Trump stated he had no intentions of ever running for president at all.
“I don’t want to be President,” Trump said. “I’m one hundred percent sure. I’d change my mind only if I saw this country continue to go down the tubes.”
Later on in the same interview, Trump said that if he ever ran for any office position he would run as a Democrat, stating that the “working man would elect me. He likes me. When I walk down the street, those cabbies start yelling out their windows.”
Trump said that George W. Bush was “probably the worst president in the history of the United States,” and that Bill Clinton was one of our most successful presidents in history. Trump has even said that the GOP is not a successful party.
Although he is running as a Republican and expresses conservative ideals, it is clear Donald Trump does not fully stand with the Republican Party. People criticize Trump for his extreme ideals, but it is unclear if he really believes in them when considering his liberal actions and contributions in the past. Many people question whether Donald Trump’s run for president is even serious, since he is running with a party he previously stated he did not even support.